How Engaged Are Those On Your Team?

You have heard about the importance of employee engagement. You have also heard “People don’t leave organizations, they leave relationships,” a sentiment that reflects the important connection between an employee and their immediate boss.

Gallup research indicates companies with engaged employees are more profitable, have more innovation, and have reduced employee turnover than companies whose employees are minimally engaged or disengaged.

The data is clear. The question is, “How engaged are the people on your team?”

What does it mean to be “engaged”? Consider the following components.

1. Engaged employees demonstrate commitment – they are committed to the success of the organization. They understand the vision of the leader and actively decide to go along with the vision and see it through to completion.

2. Engaged employees demonstrate dedication – they go the extra mile and think of solutions and new approaches without being asked. They are the employees you can count on to complete the assignment or solve a problem even if it takes some overtime hours to do so. These dedicated employees also don’t complain about the hours they put in.

3. Engaged employees demonstrate enthusiasm and passion – they are lively; they actively participate in meetings; and they rally their co-workers to perform at high levels. They question the status-quo and show a real can-do attitude. They are optimistic, yet realistic as well.

Companies with an engaged workforce are contagious – top performers want to join because they have heard such great things. Poor performers are not attracted because the work, the dedication, and the passion will be too much for them.

The engaged employee will also encourage their co-workers to step up their game or get out. This makes your job as the leader easier and more rewarding.

As former Campbell’s Soup CEO, Doug Conant, once said, “To win in the marketplace you must first win in the workplace.” Employee engagement is the key to activating a high performing workforce. Essentially, a high performing workforce needs a culture to support it and the leadership to drive it. Employee engagement is a key ingredient.

So, I ask again, how engaged are those on your team? On a scale of 1-10, do they:

• Consistently demonstrate commitment?

• Consistently demonstrate dedication?

• Consistently demonstrate enthusiasm and passion?

If you have an 8 or less in any of these areas, you would be wise to ask yourself what you can do to create a more engaging environment. Since everything rises and falls on leadership, this is up to you, not the employees on your team.

If you would like to have a thinking partner for this topic, let me know – I’d be happy to help.